The aughts, however, were decidedly hit-and-miss. He even played the Pharaoh in Michael Jackson’s John Singleton–directed “short film” for “Remember the Time.” And by the end of the decade, Murphy was the face of the Dr. Although he still did comedies like The Nutty Professor and Bowfinger (which featured him in all of his silly, multi-character glory) during the 1990s, a film like Boomerang offered a glimpse of the maturity and polish that Murphy was capable of, all while flexing the power he commanded during the early ’90s. (In between, he recorded a hit single written and produced by Rick James as a heat check.) Moreover, that he reached Hollywood’s apex during that era as a late-20s, Black comedic actor who was notoriously uncompromising is a feat all by itself. He pulled off the most garish leather outfits in the brilliant stand-up special Eddie Murphy: Delirious and the Robert Townsend–directed, feature-length stand-up film Eddie Murphy: Raw. After emerging as the biggest star of Saturday Night Live’s second phase, Murphy became one of the biggest stars of the 1980s on the strength of 48 Hrs., Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop and Beverly Hills Cop ll, and Coming to America.

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